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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. object — a thing
  3. pop — music
  4. mug — to rob
  5. capital — a city
  6. pop — to visit
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — to protest
  9. field — farmland
  10. current — electric
  11. tear — to rip
  12. current — of water
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bear — the animal
  15. capital — money
  16. mug — a cup
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. field — for sport
  19. pop — soda
  20. current — happening now
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. mug — a face
  24. field — a subject

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com